MOSCOW: No-one in US President Donald Trump’s new administration has made contact with the Kremlin about setting up a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Russian officials said Monday.
Trump, who took office last Monday, told reporters he was willing to meet the Russian president “immediately” to reach a deal on ending the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine, but neither side has indicated when talks might happen.
“Contacts with the new administration have not started,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state news agencies on Monday, adding there had been no “direct” communication with members of Trump’s administration.
“What we have in terms of dialogue with Washington is carried out through embassies, as before,” he added.
The Kremlin said Monday both leaders appeared ready for a high-level meeting, but that it was still waiting for word from Washington.
Kremlin says awaits ‘signals’ from US on possible Putin-Trump meeting
“So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans. The readiness remains. The same readiness, as we have heard, remains on the American side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Ukraine crisis has plunged relations between the two nuclear powers to their lowest levels since the Cold War.
In a post on his Truth Social network last Wednesday, Trump said he was “not looking to hurt Russia” but would impose more sanctions and hike tariffs on the country if Putin did not make a deal to settle the conflict.
Putin on Friday said he was ready for talks, praising Trump as a “smart” and “pragmatic” man who might have prevented the Ukraine offensive from starting in the first place.
Kyiv has warned against it being excluded from any peace talks, accusing Putin of wanting to “manipulate” Trump.
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